Lumber-kiln



(No Model.) 3 Sheets- Sheet 1. W. A. FLETCHER.

LUMBER KILN. No. 421,690. Patented Feb. 1 8, 1890.

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W. A. FLETCHER.

LUMBBR KILN.`

No. 421,690. Patented-Feb.. 18, 1890.

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W. A. FLETCHER.

LUMBBR 1111111.

110. 421,690. Patented Feb. 18, 1890.

' improved drier.

NrTED STATES PATENTv Quince.

VILLIAM ANDREW FLETCHER, OF BEAUMONT, TEXAS.

LUMBER-KILN.

. SPECIFICATION forming pm of Letters Patent No. 421,690, dated February18,1890.`

Application filed August 16, 1889. Serial No. 320,964. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it knownthat I, WILLIAM ANDREW a resident ofBeaumont, in the countyof Jefferson and State of Texas, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Lumber- Kilns; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the sameJ My invention has relation to certain new anduseful improvements inlumber-driers; and it consists of the details of'construction and arrangement of parts, as hereinafter more fullypointed` out in the drawings and described in the specication.

The object of this invention consists in providing a lumber-drier ofsuch construction as will permit of the green lumber placed therein tobe dried to have a direct current of dry heated air applied directlythroughout the center of the pile, while the outer ends of said pilewill be subjected to a moist heat simultaneously therewith, therebyeausinga central shrinkage of the lumber in the first instance, whilethe outer ends of the pile re-l main unshrunken, and afterward to allowfor the application of a uniform current of hot dry air to the wholesurface of the pile, so as to cause a shrinkage of the outer ends equalto the central shrinkage, thereby preventing the checking or crackingofthe outer ends, as is they case where the lumber is subjected to thedirect application of hot dry air throughout the pile in the firstinstance.

Referring to the drawings forming a part of this application, Figure lis aview in elevation of my improved lumberdrier, one side thereof beingremoved for the purpose of showing the location of the cars and piledlumber thereon. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the drying-room, showingthe water-supply pipes arranged thereabove. Fig.- 3 is an end view ofthe drier, showing clearly the position of the curtains when raised;Fig. 4, a detail view of a plank, so as to illustrate the shrinkage ofthe same when treated in my Fig. 5 is a view of a plank, showing how itshould shrink by the old methods; and Fig. Gis a viewillustrating thechecking or cracking of a'plank'when treated by the driers now in use.

Similar letters of reference are used to illustrate corresponding partsthroughout the entire specification and several views of the drawings.

The letter A is used to designate the drierV proper, and B the irontracks arranged inthe dry-room A.

@represents the cars or trucks uponwhich the lumber to be dried isplaced, said piled p Above the ceiling of the dry-room runs par-v alleltherewith the water supply pipe G, which pipe'connects at suitableintervals, by means of short downward-extending pipes g g g, with thebranch pipes H H H, located beneath the ceiling and within thevdry-room, said pipes-running the entire width of the room, and havingtheir outer portions provided with a series of perforations 72, 71, hdirectly above the evaporating-pans located at the sides of the floor.Of course the location of these pipes may be changed without alteringthe character of my invention.

Over the perforated ends or portions of the branch pipes I hang theupper end of the curtains .l J, and-the lower ends thereof I secure tothe strip jj, secured above the evaporating-pans E E to the frame of thedryingroom and extending laterally therefrom, and by preference thecurtains are made with a gradual taper toward their lower end. To theloose ends of said curtains, overlapping the perforated portion of thebranch pipes, is secured one end of the pulley-cord K. This cord is thenextended downwardly back of the curtain, and, passing beneath the sheaveL, is extended rearwardly, so as to be conveniently operated. If wesuppose the curtains to be in the position illustrated in Fig. 3 and IOOit is desired to lower the same, all that is necessary to be done-issimply to release the free rear end of the cord K, and the entirecurtain may thus be permitted to fall to the floor of the room. On theother hand, when it is desired to raise the curtains from the positionjust mentioned, it is only necessary to lpull on the free end of thecord, and after the curtains have been raised suiiiciently for the upper free end to hang over the perforated ends of the pipes ll the rearend of the cord may again be secured. Said curtains are designed tocover or protect the projecting ends of the piled lumber placed in thedry-room, also to separate one pile from the other, as clearly shown inFig. 3 of the drawings. The curtains, when raised so as to overlap theperforated portion of the branch pipes, have a gradual incline from thetop to the bottom, for the purpose hereinafter described.

The lumber to be dried is run into the dryroom in a green condition, andthe stacking thereof upon the cars or trucks is in the ordinary manner.

In thedrawings l have shown the dryingroom as being' provided with threecars piled with lumber; but of course any desired number of cars may bearranged therein by merely increasing the supply of branch water-pipesand of the hereinbefore-described cover-cur tains. I have also shown theevaporatingpans as being constructed separate from the floor; but, if sodesired, they may be formed in the floor proper.

The operation of my improved drier is as follows Green lumber havingbeen previously piled upon the cars or trucks, the same are then causedto be run into the dry room until the proper point is reached,(depending upon the number of piles to be dried,) the ends of the lumberprojecting beyond the sides of the cars over the evaporating-pans- Thecurtains are raised until the wide ends thereof lap over the perforatedportion of the branch water-pipes, when the lower ends are secured tothe strip over the evaporatingpans. The ends of each pile of lumber tobe dried are protected by means of the curtains in the manner abovedescribed. Tater is then introduced into the branch pipes by the openingof the stop-cocks G-, located at the top of the downwardly-extendingpipes g g g, from whence it flows through the perforations hh 7L ontothe curtains J J into the pans E E. The water is prevented from fallingdirectly from the branch pipes into the evaporating-pans by reason ofthe curtains being` hung at an incline. After the water has been turnedon, the dry-room is tightly closed and dry hot air introduced therein inany suitable mannerand allowedtocirculatefreelybetween the severallayers of lumber. Itis obvious that by allowing a continuous flow ofwater over the curtains the hot dry air coming in contact therewith atthe ends of the lumber will create a moist heated air at that portion ofthe pile, while the center thereof `will be sub-N jected to a directcurrent of hot dry air, which will necessarily cause a shrinkagethereof. After subjecting the piles of green lumber to the applicationof a dry and moist heat, vas above described, for a sufficient length oftime-that is, until the center of the pile has become partly shrunk-theiiow of water is cut off and the curtains allowed to fall to the floorby the pulling of the pulley-cords and the lumber exposed throughout tothe action of the dry hot air, so as to cause the shrinkage of theout-er ends correspondingly with the center of the pile. lVhatevcr waterhas not been carried off from the curtains by way of evaporation byreason of the direct current of hot air coming in contact therewithflows into the evaporating-pans, and if n ot carried by evaporationtherefrom flows out through the driplpipes F, connected with theevaporatingpans- After the thorough shrinkage of the lumber has beenaccomplished the hot current of air is cut olf, the dry-room opened, andthe cars, together with the dried lumber, run out thereof. l

By the use of the present driers the lumber is subjected to the directcirculation of the dry hot air, and it' is obvious that, as suchmaterial is in a green state when placed in the dryingioom, the outerends thereof dry with greater rapidity than in the center ofthe pile,and thus is caused the checking or crack ing of such ends by reason ofthe undue pressure created by the unequal contraction. The effect ofsuch drying is clearly illustrated in Fig. 5 of the drawings, whereinthe natural green wood is represented by dotted lines, while the fulllines indicate the Wood after having been subjected to the directapplication of the hot dry air.

By the use of my improved drier the shrinkA age of the board isaccomplished in a manner IOO j ust the reverse of that previouslydescribed-- that is, the necessary shrinkage takes place in the firstinstance in the center of the pile of boards before the dry hot air isgiven free circulation to the whole pile, after which the flow of thewater is cut off, protectingcurw tains removed from the ends of thepile, and the hot air admitted to the full length of the lumber, so asto create a shrinkage of the ends equal to the center shrinkage of theboards, thereby preventing the checking or cracking of the ends thereof,inasmuch as the shrinkage of the center previous to the ends has atendency to close the fiber of the wood instead of causing the same toopen.

Owing to the natural tendency of the heated air to ascend, andconsequently create a quicker drying at the top of the pile, l provide,in order t0 keep the direct current of hot air farther from the ends ofthe lumber, the curtains, as before stated, wider at theirltop thanbottom.

Having thus fully described my invention, what l claim as new, anddesire to secure protection in by Letters Patent of the United. States,is#n IIO 1. The combination, with the dry-room of a lumber-drier, of themain Water-supply pipe, branch pipes located beneath the ceil. ing andWithin the dry-room, said pipes having their outer portions perforated,connecting-pipes, stop-cocks for controlling the flow of the Waterthrough said pipes, evaporatingpans located on the floor beneath theperforated portion of the branch pipes, and the cover-curtains, theupper ends of which pass over the perforated portion of said pipes, andlaterally-extending strips secured above the evaporating-pans, andtowhich the lower ends of the curtains are secured, substantially as andfor the purpose herein shown and described.

2. In the herein-described dryroom of a lu1nberdrier, the combination,with the perforated branch Water-pipes, of the graduallytaperingcover-curtains for protecting the ends of the piled lumber during thefirst stage of drying, and of the pulley-cords attached to the upperends of said curtains for lowering the same, substantiallyas hereinshown and described.

3. The combination, With a drier, of the herein-described Watersupply,evaporatingpans, cover-curtains having their lower ends secured abovesaid evaporatingapans and their upper ends overlapping the perforatedends of the transverse branch pipes, sheaves journaled in bearings inthe bottom of the drier, and pulleycords secured to the overlappingupper ends of the curtains and passing down to the rear of the same andbe- `neath the ioor of the room for carrying off the surplus Water fromthe'evapQrating-pans, cover-curtains for the projecting ends of the`lumber, gradually tapering toward their lower ends,'passing over theperforated portion of the branch pipes, and having their lower endssecured over the evaporating-pans, so` as to hang at an incline,pulley-cords secured to the top of the covercurtains for lowering saidcurtains, and of the pulley-cord sheave located near the bottom of thedryroom,sub stantially as and for the purpose herein shown anddescribed.

In testimony that l claim the foregoing as my own I have hereuntoaffixed my signature in presence of tW'o Witnesses.

WILLIAM ANDREW' EtEroi-EE'.` `s

Witnesses:

E. M. GERRY, J. T. TERRY.

